Bears Cancel Practice Over Field Conditions

Scott Van Pelt was talking about this today on his show. The Chicago Bears cancelled a practice at Soldier Field because the field wasn't in playing condition. Here's the article from Pro Football Talk.
If anybody thinks the Jets are inept, they should read this.

Derrick Mason In? Jerricho Cotchery Out?

In a move that could spell the end of Jerricho Cotchery's time with the Jets,and all but assures Braylon Edwards won't be back, it was reported late Wednesday that the Jets are bringing Derrick Mason in for a physical and could be signed by the end of the week.

Greene Ready For Bigger Role In Offense

The-Star Ledger has an article featuring Shonn Greene expecting to carry more responsibility on the running game this season. From all reports, it sounds like Greene is ready to go.

Hunter Is Starting Tackle, Pace Is On Pace, Braylon Returning?

Multiple tweets went out today confirming that Wayne Hunter is Ryan's choice to start at Right Tackle this season. Vlad Ducasse will be backup to Hunter.

It was also reported that Calvin Pace's foot was only 20% healthy by the end of last season. Ryan expects a healthy Pace to have a double-digit sack year. Manish Mehta quotes Ryan as saying Pace has "potential 10-sack ability."

Jenny Vrentas tweeted that Ryan said of Braylon Edwards "If Braylon wants to come back for what we can pay him, come on back." Ryan also didn't rule out the possibility of James Ihedigbo and Brodney Pool returning.

Off The Presses

Mike Vaccaro echoes the sentiments of Ian O'Connor that Rex Ryan has to do a better job as coach this season. (NY Post)

Ben Shpigel has a story in the NY Times about Defensive Coordinator Mike Pettine's challenge to make the Jets a more dominant defense. There's an interesting stat in the article. "According to game charting by Football Outsiders, the Jets’ third-down defense was the worst in the NFL last season — after being the best in 2009. Their downfall was not preventing conversions so much as preventing explosive plays; they allowed 22 plays of at least 20 yards on third down, three more than any other team." 

   

Training Camp: Day 2

Congratulations to David Harris. The linebacker has signed a four-year, $36 million contract with $29.5 million guaranteed according to Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News.

The Jets have signed safety DaJuan Morgan. Jenny Vrentas of the Star-Ledger writes that Morgan will provide depth at the position as Jim Leonhard comes back from injury and Eric Smith waits till August 4th to practice.

Rex Says Wilkerson To Start, Westerman's Role To Increase

According to an article published on NJ.com, Rex Ryan says that Muhammad Wilkerson will start at defensive end this season. Also, expect to see more of Jamaal Westerman as a pass rusher.

Off The Presses

Gary Myers writes in the NY Daily News that the Jets roster as it's currently constructed isn't the best roster Rex Ryan has had to work with.

Plaxico Burress says that when he steps onto the field, he will look like he was 25 years old. (NY Daily News)

Rex Ryan is challenging the rest of the league to beat the New England Patriots. (NY Post)

Mike Vaccaro writes of the expectations the Jets and Mark Sanchez have for themselves. (NY Post)

Antonio Cromartie is playing to prove to people he is a number one cornerback. (NY Post) (Star-Ledger)

Ryan is already thinking about the Christmas Eve matchup with the Giants. (NY Post)

Mike Tannenbaum says the Jets aren't done putting the pieces together. (NY Post)

Summing Up The 2011 Free Agency Period

This free agent period reminds of a Saved By The Bell episode in which Zack falls for the new student nurse and dumps Kelly. When he's turned off by the student nurse (who's onto his scheme), he tries to run back to Kelly but she is dating another guy. In this case, Nnamdi Asomugha is the new object of affection and Antonio Cromartie is the jilted lover. Luckily, Cromartie has forgiven the Jets by signing a 4-year, $32 million dollar contract as reported by the NY Post.

Asomugha is a shutdown cornerback, while Cromartie is a very good cornerback. But by pursuing Asomugha vigorously and not getting him, the Jets ran the risk of also losing Cromartie, leaving them with what would have been a gaping hole in the secondary. I don't think Kyle Wilson was ready to step up and start based on what I saw of him last year.

In the end, the Jets did not get the most-coveted free agent but retained two of their top four free agents(Cromartie, Santonio Holmes) and brought in Plaxico Burress to give Mark Sanchez a bigger target to throw to in the end zone. They couldn't re-sign Brad Smith and Braylon Edwards appears to be headed elsewhere. I'm sorry to see both go, but I'm relieved that the Jets kept their biggest stars. It remains to be seen the impact of Smith's absence on the wildcat and special teams, but Cromartie can at least spell Smith on punt returns.

Did The Jets Just Shoot Themselves in The Leg?

For the second time in eight months, a Philadelphia team has screwed a New York team.

First it was Cliff Lee turning down a seven-year offer from the Yankees to join the Phillies, now it’s Nnamdi Asomugha joining the Eagles after the Jets engaged in a hot pursuit of the All-Pro cornerback. This pursuit proved costly when all-purpose superstar Brad Smith signed with the Buffalo Bills.

The Jets are trying to save face by signing Plaxico Burress to a one-year deal. Personal problems aside, he has not played football in two years and is 34. Is this really an upgrade over Braylon Edwards or just a stopgap? I think it’s the latter.

It’s great that the Jets went after a superstar like Asomugha, but since they didn’t close on the deal, Jet fans are now left to wonder if they could have put their attention towards singing a defensive lineman like a Charles Johnson, a Ray Edwards or a Cullen Jenkins. The New England Patriots added Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ochocinco for nothing more than a couple of draft picks.

Mike Tannenbaum has been a great GM for the Jets. I’m not going to argue against 2 consecutive AFC Championship game appearances. However, if the Jets want to get to a third, they are going to have to hope Antonio Cromartie doesn’t have bruised feelings and they are going to have to find some way to develop a pass rush. Johnson or Edwards would have been a good acquisition for them. Instead, it looks like New England got better and the Jets stood pat.